The State of the Naturally Aspirated Union
There are some new names in the really fast Naturally Aspirated game when for many years there was but one. James ‘Doc’ McEntire and his killer red Camaro reigned supreme. Every time Doc ran a personal best, he’d proclaim: “New world record!” And nobody had a problem with that. Now the sharks are circling.
Last week, Derek Putnam wrote a story for sickthemagazine.com that sparked some lively debate. It was about the insane progress that Ed Ensor has been making with his blue ’85 Fox-body. On the surface it seemed like a harmless news story, but there was some blowback on Facebook when former NA racer and primo smack-talker Eddie Miller inflamed a discussion centering around the relative race weight of Ed’s car. In essence was a rebadged version of the age-old question: what constitutes a street car? You see, the rules that Hot Rod Drag Week originally laid out for the Pro Street Naturally Aspirated class stipulate the vehicle must weigh no less than 3000 pounds and race on big tires. But Ed Ensor is playing by his own rules.
Before we get into all that, let me first point out that these really fast Naturally Aspirated guys are a different breed. AThey deliberately deprive themselves of freely available boost-making equipment that would enable them to create more power and run faster times with greater ease. That’s like having one hand tied behind your back only you tied it yourself.
So why do they do it? Well, I guess for the different kind of challenge it presents, which makes any victory spoils taste all the more sweet. But also because, like I said, these really fast Naturally Aspirated guys are a different breed. Enigmatic in the extreme. They shun power adders, yet in some weird way they’re the most power mad group of all. They tend to be razor sharp, tightly wound, hungry to succeed, slightly cagey – basically they have all the traits of the most successful serial killers.
Situation Report
Doc McEntire currently holds the Drag Week records in Pro Street NA for the quickest single run – a 7.89/170mph set in 2019 – and the quickest five-day average – an 8.03/167mph set in 2017. He bettered those numbers at Sick Week 2023, with a 7.71/173mph single run and a 7.83/163mph average.
Doc has Jeff McConnell as his tuner and co-pilot. Their most recent outing with the Camaro ended on day two at Sick Week 2024 Presented By Gear Vendors Overdrive due to a broken converter. This gave Jerry and Matt Sweet a chance to step up to the plate. The father and son team got their Sonny’s-powered Nova rolling like a bracket freight train at Sick Week. With engine builder Brian Robbins calling the tunes, the Sweets won the NA class overall with a quickest run of 7.72/176mph and a scorching final average of 7.73/176mph. Apparently this wasn’t good enough for Jerry and Matt, who have subsequently pulled the motor and are now raising the cubic-inch count even further.
New Foe
Sick events are different to Drag Week in that they have the more liberal Modified Naturally Aspirated component in addition to Pro Street NA. Under Modified rules, the vehicle can be as light as you like as long as it looks stock and it’s on small tires. (If you want the exact clarification on this, Keith Turk says read the rules!) Taking the initiative, Ed Ensor brought his Mustang to Sick Summer 2023 Presented By TBM Brakes and shattered the drag-and-drive NA records for both quickest ET – a 7.46/184mph – and quickest average – a 7.53/178mph.
Ed has Jimmy Lopez as his co-pilot. They’ve been testing the car heavily of late and so far it’s gone as quick as a staggering 7.11/189mph.
‘Fast Eddie’ is doing things differently with this Mustang because it’s a good deal lighter than the 3000 pounds mandated by Pro Street. It leans further into the race car realm and it’s also on a small tire, as per the Modified rules.
I prefer to leave the “real street car” discussions to those with more time on their hands, but one thing Eddie Miller said during the online brouhaha last week that made sense was that it’s like “comparing apples and oranges”. Doc and the Sweets are determined to carry the weight of tradition, so to speak; while Ed Ensor is just in a class of his own.
Whether they go head-to-head or not, all these really fast Naturally Aspirated guys are striving for the ultimate in performance, and all are spurred on by the achievements of the others. This pure power war is hotting up, times are gonna tumble.
With peak drag-and-drive season approaching, we probe these top combatants to see where their heads are at...
Technology Analysis
Doc McEntire
1968 Chevrolet Camaro
Engine: Goodwin Competition Hemi, 5.0in stroke, 4.50in bore
Weight: Pro Street legal
Quickest drag-and-drive pass: 7.71/173mph, Sick Week 2023
Quickest average: 7.83/163mph, Sick Week 2023
What events are you planning to race at in 2024?
Sick Week 2024, Drag Week 2024 and perhaps more.
What are your goals for the season?
To finish an event.
Where are you and the car at currently?
Cleaning up the carnage from Bradenton.
What happened at Bradenton?
‘SEE RED’ had a catastrophic torque converter failure on Tuesday of Sick Week. We did a one-and-done on Monday with a respectable 7.76/176mph. Another car [Sweet’s Nova] made multiple hits and turned in a 7.72. We were in second place but we were getting to race at two of my favorite tracks on Tuesday and Wednesday. We knew Bradenton was gonna be our chance to run a 7.6X so we added some launch rpm and A LOT of power off the transbrake. We were going to go to the number one position, and with authority. Everything was perfect until I removed my finger from the transbrake and proceeded to grenade the torque converter (the same one we have used for five consecutive years). We have a unique set-up and use a low-gear electronic transmission dump valve. We had previously drilled out the -6 line restriction pill as big as we could. My great idea was if some is good, more is better. I decided to just remove the dump pill and run the system wide open as a -6 line bleed. When the car moved to fully stage and I then went on the transbrake, it proceeded to empty the entire torque converter charge pressure line volume into the pan. Running the converter low on fluid caused a catastrophic failure where it went nuclear-reactor hot and welded itself internally and would not flash launch. It lugged the engine down off the transbrake and would not accelerate, and it sent metallic material throughout the entire system.
What needs to happen to get the car where you want it to be?
We have the transmission out and repaired and will test it out with a tighter back-up converter, 6600- versus 7000-rpm stall. I also need to shed some weight to get headed toward the 3000-pound minimum weight. SEE RED was literally built in 1985 and is much heavier than she needs to be. I think she has a 1.09-second 60-foot time in her, but 1.12 is what we have calmed her down to so we don’t risk parts breakage. I guess it’s time to let her eat.
What’s your take on the current NA landscape?
I have always focused on endurance first and ET second. I am determined to compete in a true street car. I have been in the drag and drive game since 2006. There are always flash-in-the pan cars that come and go but I intend to keep doing things that allow fans and spectators to see that SEE RED is a legitimate street car (including the seven-position intermittent wipers). Valvetrain geometry will always be the Achilles’ heel in the NA game. Seems pretty cut and dried. I would say Ed’s in a class by himself as he has decided to go the extreme lightweight side of NA, and a transformer, with so much changeover from street to track. But with the Sweets and if Jack Miller is in Pro Street at a 3000-pound minimum, the show and competition should be fun, with similar cars and weights of street cars people can identify with.
How do you see things developing over the next 12 months?
I expect to see four or five aggressive NA cars and I am excited about the competition.
What’s your secret weapon?
Now then, it wouldn’t be secret, would it?
Jerry & Matt Sweet
1976 Chevrolet Nova
Engine: 800-plus cubic-inch Chevy big-block with Sonny’s Hemi heads
Weight: 3000-plus lb, as per Pro Street NA rules
Quicket pass: 7.72/176mph, Sick Week 2024
Quickest average: 7.73/176mph, Sick Week 2024
What events are you planning to race at in 2024?
Drag Week and a late-season event TBD.
What are your goals for the season?
Have more fun, hang out with our family and racecar friends (coolest people on the planet), and be quicker and faster than our last event. We achieved a huge goal at Drag Week last year by putting our untested hot rod in the sevens but we hurt a few parts. Brian Robbins of Robbins Racecraft worked his magic on the powerplant, Coan Transmissions put together a killer package, and Chuck Lett of Attac Race Cars updated the chassis. These changes resulted in a Sick Week ’24 average in the sevens and winning that orange helmet. Sick Week ’22 = third place, Sick Week ’23 = second place, Sick Week ’24 = first place and overall orange helmet winner. Way cool!
Where are you and the car at currently?
The car is completely torn apart. We are making several changes to make it faster and safer. Everything but body and paint!
What needs to happen to get you where you want to be?
More power! The motor is heading back to Brian’s shop to get refreshed and maybe change a few things to make more power. We are updating the rear chassis with a new heavy-duty anti-roll bar and Penske shocks to help improve our early numbers and get a little better control on the track.
What’s your take on the current NA landscape?
NA racers are really stepping things up. Just when you think there is a bar set, someone steps up and shatters it. Recently in testing, ‘Fast Eddie’ went 7.1s on a small tire. Wow. It is also really cool to watch NA guys running in the 10.0, 9.0 and 8.50 classes. Going that quick is not easy or cheap. The best thing about NA racing is that mother nature gives everyone the same variable to work with. It is a true test of assembling the right components, compression ratio and timing to go fast and making sure that you don’t take things a bit too far so that you can make the drive. One of my favorite questions as an NA racer is if I am going to turn it up for the next pass. LOL!
How do you see things developing over the next 12 months?
I think that there will be more unique engine and transmission combinations and even quicker times posted. Maybe someone will run in the sixes.
What’s your secret weapon?
Family and friends.
Ed Ensor
1985 Ford Mustang
Engine: 632ci Chevy big-block
Weight: No one knows (just me)
Quickest drag-and-drive pass: 7.46@184mph, Sick Summer 2023
Quickest average: 7.53@178mph, Sick Summer 2023
What events are you planning to race at in 2024?
Hoping to run a couple of Sick Shootouts, possibly Sick Summer. And I want to do Drag Week but with my red 1988 Mustang.
What are your goals for the season with the blue Mustang?
Trying to go faster. I’m not stopping until I go 192 miles an hour. I know it’s got the capability but I’ve just got to find it.
How has your preparation been lately? At 7.11, sounds like you got it dialed.
No, I don’t have it dialed! I’m never satisfied. This weekend I’m going to another track rental at Union Grove, Wisconsin to try a different brand torque converter. Then the following week I’m going back to US 131 in Michigan with yet another converter. I got two converters coming in the mail as we speak. Right now I’m slipping too much and the power is going out the pipes.
What needs to happen to get you where you want to be?
I have a baseline right now that if I want to do Sick Summer, I could do Sick Summer. As long as the track prep is there it will do 7.20s for fun, but I’m up in the air with whether I’ll go or not. If I’m going to do it, I’m going to do it right, ’cos I’m 150 percent or I’m nothing. All this testing I’m doing right now is really for Sick Week next year. I want to go 6.99 at Sick Week. That’s going to be hard. Plus I have my red car, which I’d like to take to Drag Week and beat all the Pro Street guys.
What’s your take on the current NA landscape?
I think Pro Street NA – big tires and heavy car – is a thing of the past. I choose to do it differently with smaller tires, less weight and less motor.
How do you see things developing over the next 12 months?
I’m gonna try to outrun everybody at Drag Week with my red car, 3000 pounds on a 28-inch small tire, and then listen to the chin music. That car already went 7.69. So even though I don’t fit into Pro Street because I cannot physically get a big tire underneath it, I’m wanting to take it to Drag Week because I know there’s going to be a big showdown. You’re going to have Matt and Jerry Sweet, you’re going to have Doc McEntire because he’s been the poster child for 10 years, and then you got Scott Miller building that new 800- and 900-inch motor. They’re all going to go play in the Pro Street class. So I would love to go in the all-motor class and try to beat them on my small tires.
Are you testing the red car right now too?
Yeah. I got three engines and I swap between the engines, so I’m messing around right now trying to get whatever combination works the best. I don’t like going with the same thing. The only thing I like the same is my wife I’ve had for 32 years. Other than that, I get bored, I need a new challenge. But I got a good baseline already with the car because, like I said, I went 7.69. But that is not what I’m looking for. I want to get it to run a .59 before I go to Drag Week because I’m that guy. I got to get my shit right before I go, and I know it’s not right yet. But for now I’m full bore on the blue car.
What’s your secret weapon?
Dedication and hard work.
Written by Matt Reekie.
